Values of engineering majors : a step beyond Holland's model

While reviewing previous research on the interests and values of engineering students, two themes emerged: (a) there is disagreement on whether interests and values are two separate constructs and (b) although there are studies that compare the interests and values of engineering majors and engineers to other majors and occupations, no studies have been found which focus on the relationship of interests and values within and among fields of engineering. The present study investigated the relationship between the Self-Directed Search, an interest inventory constructed on a model of six personality types, and the Values Scale, a values inventory, for students in different engineering fields. One hundred and sixty-five undergraduate engineering students, 125 males and 39 females, at The University of Tennessee completed an assessment packet. The sample for the study included students from eleven engineering fields: Aerospace (n=5), Biomedical (n=l l), Chemical (n=27), Civil (n=24), Computer (n=7), Electrical (n=26), Engineering Physics (n=2), Engineering Science (n=l), Industrial (n=29), Material Science and Engineering (n=5), and Mechanical (n=27).